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Boris: fares rises needed to fund TfL
Katharine Barney, Evening Standard28 Jan 2009
BORIS JOHNSON was today forced to defend Tube and bus fare rises which could see Londoners pay an extra £300 a year.
The new prices which came into effect this month have seen peak Oyster card fares for trips within Zones 1 and 2 rise from £2 to £2.20.
The Mayor was facing questions from members of the London Assembly over his first draft budget which includes a freeze of the Greater London Authority's share of the council tax.
But opposition members said this amounted to a saving of £9 a year - compared with a travel card increase of between £160 and £300.
Mr Johnson, who has promised to cut the GLA's £12billion budget in 2009/10 by £9.1million, said the financial position of Transport for London made the rises inevitable. He said: "They were put in place by the last mayor and abandoned in the run-up to the elections."
Labour's budget spokesman John Biggs said: "Holding tax down with one hand and snatching fares with the other does not represent value for money for working Londoners."
Reader views (6)
for the unemployed people in london, how much is a weekly on the oyster? I understand that for people who are not registared as unemployed a weekly on the oyster is around £16 something, could you please tell me how much it would be for the unemployed?
Thanks.
- Hayley, London, 11/04/2010 20:25
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Before the rise London already had the most expensive public transport in the world. How can they possibly justify this in the present climate? I'm a fan of Boris but he needs to save some money elsewhere rather than raise fares!Get rid of some of the non essential workforce!
- Duncan Walker, Lucky to live in Thailand, 29/01/2009 05:08
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The financial problems are all of Boris' making.
He is having to raise fares to cover the loss of revenue from the Western extension of the Congestion Charging Zone, to replace the cheap fuel deal with Venezuela and to replace 5 year old bendy buses with 60% more new double deckers. The true costs of the latter policy have never been published.
You don't hear David Cameron criticising Boris' policies, which makes you wonder what the Conservatives are planning if they get elected in May 2010.
- Andrew, London, 28/01/2009 21:44
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I now use my motorcycle as its far cheaper, easy and its quick around traffic jam London.
- Joe Sardena, Swanley Kent, 28/01/2009 16:45
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does this take into account the loss of reduced price fuel negotiated by Ken but overturned by Boris?
- Andy, London, 28/01/2009 16:26
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Why not just cut down on the staff levels at tfl, marketing, branding, diversity, managers galore who dont or cant manage.
Money saved easily
- P Staker, London, 28/01/2009 15:37
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